Bible Business Lessons - Diversity

Matthew 10:2-4, “These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”

This last Sunday I was sitting in Calvary Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico listening to one of the country’s most gifted Pastors - Skip Heitzig and the message was labeled…

In a future post I’ll pay a little more attention of the topic of the message that day but what immediately struck me about the message was the diversity of the 12 that Jesus recruited to be his team…

Simon (better known to most as Peter) was sort of the “stumble forward” apostle. Peter was an impulsive action taker.

Andrew was a “manly man” - BUT - was sometimes reluctant to trust Jesus as his leader.

The brothers James and John were devout Jews that seemed a little bit racist when they had to deal with the Samaritans. The “sons of thunder” were a bit...boisterous

Philip was the “CPA” of the group. He was a “bottom line” kind of guy.

Bartholomew (also called Nathaniel) was a bit “jaded” right from the beginning. "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" was the famous quote that comes to mind.

Matthew was a wealthy tax collector and tax collector were about as highly regarded then as they are now.

Thomas was the pessimist (the Eoore of the team)

James (the 2nd James) was the silent type. He just did his work but we know little about him.

Thaddeus was known by 4 names (Thaddeus - Jude - Judas - Lebbaeus) but we don’t know a lot about him either.

Simon (the zealot) was a hater of Rome. (a polar opposite of Matthew)

Judas, or course, was the betrayer. It was all about the money to him.

Now here’s my point. The 12 were quite different in backgrounds, life experience, style and substance.

Still, they came together as a very effective “team”. Of course they had good leadership, that always helps, but they were a diverse group. Each has strengths (and weaknesses) that benefited the group as a whole.

Now how does that relate to YOU and your life?

Whether it’s your family or your business, I encourage you to embrace the diversity in groups. Some people are very good at some things that others will always be challenged with. Those differences can certainly hurt but they can help even more - when we work together.

Something to think about

Bill Bateman (like Batman with an “E” in the middle)

PS - There are a very diverse group of businesses and people represented here on IBOToolbox and on one of my favorite platforms for promoting IBO (and other businesses) - LeadsLeap. If you are already a part of the team - I appreciate it. If you are not, you are always welcome